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a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, we believe that Emmanuel was truly born of a woman, and we will not cast away the brilliant and admirable boast of our own nature, thinking rightly. {Β} You have spoken most excellently. For the Only-begotten did not take hold of his own nature—for then our state would have been in no way better—nor indeed of the angels, but of the seed of Abraham, as it is written. For in this way and no other was the race that had slipped into corruption to be saved. {Α} And what then? Is it not also worthy to marvel at this in addition to these things, O Hermias? {Β} What is it you say? {Α} For almost bidding farewell to the divinely inspired Scripture, and certain people 685 giving over their own mind to deceiving spirits, have come to such foolish counsel and childish stupidity, as to think that the Creator of the ages, God the Word, co-eternal with God the Father, had the beginning of his existence accompanying the birth of the flesh, and to imagine him who is beyond all age and time to be late-born, as if in the last times and scarcely at the time of the incarnation, God became Father, and that he through whom are all things and in whom are all things came into being and subsistence, as it were, together with the temple from the Virgin. Have they not then already reached the highest limit of evils, who have so readily accepted this old wives' and abominable tale, and filled their own mind with unmitigated sloth? Their throat is an open tomb, truly, with their tongues they have practiced deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. {Β} I agree; for the word of the Psalmist is true. {Α} For is it not necessary that he through whom all things are also pre-existed all things? {Β} You speak well. {Α} And what indeed would they do, when John writes: In the beginning was the Word, <and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God>. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And again: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life. And the life was made manifest, and we have seen, and bear witness, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us, and Christ himself indicating to the Jews the unimaginable antiquity of his own existence. For when they said: You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? they heard clearly in reply: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Where 'was' exists, with nothing added, and indeed 'I am' is clearly stated, what beginning of generation could one perceive? Or in what way indeed could he who was in the beginning, which is beyond all understanding, accept being called into existence in time? If, then, one should choose to oppose these things more leisurely, it is not at all difficult, by bringing forward the words of the divinely inspired Scripture, to repel the harm from their madness. But as for matters so clearly sick of refutation and having too much that is unseemly, I think it is superfluous even to deem them worthy of concern. {Β} You speak well. 686 {Α} Therefore let us go to that point which is related to what has been condemned. For some misrepresent the beauty of the truth, counterfeiting it like some coin, and raising their horn on high, and speaking injustice against God, according to what is written. They imagine the Only-begotten as non-existent and not subsisting individually, and not existing in a hypostasis of his own, but as simply a word (rhema) and a word (logos) that came forth from God by utterance alone, and these wretched ones say he dwelt in a man, and having thus composed Jesus, they say he is holier than the saints, but no longer God. Therefore, as the Savior's disciple also wrote: Who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies

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Υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, ἐκ γυναικὸς ἀληθῶς γεγεννῆσθαι πιστεύομεν τὸν Ἐμμανουήλ, καὶ τὸ λαμπρόν τε καὶ ἀξιάγαστον τῆς ἑαυτῶν φύσεως οὐ διωσόμεθα καύχημα, φρονοῦντες ὀρθῶς. {Β} Ἄριστα ἔφης. Ἐπεδράξατο γὰρ ὁ Μονογενὴς οὐχὶ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεωςἦ γὰρ ἂν οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀμείνοσιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τῆς ἀγγέλων, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραάμ, καθὰ γέγραπται. Ἦν γὰρ οὕτω καὶ οὐχ ἑτέρως τὸ διολισθῆσαν εἰς φθορὰν ἀνασώσασθαι γένος. {Α} Τί δέ; Οὐχὶ κἀκεῖνο πρὸς τοῖσδε καταθαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ὦ Ἑρμεία; {Β} Τὸ ποῖόν τι φής; {Α} Μόνον γὰρ οὐχὶ καὶ τὸ ἐρρῶσθαι φράσαντες τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ, καὶ πνεύμασι πλάνοις τὸν οἰκεῖόν τινες 685 ἀπονέμοντες νοῦν, εἰς τοῦτο καθίκοντο δυσβουλίας καὶ μειρακιώδους ἀβελτηρίας, ὡς οἴεσθαι δεῖν τὸν τῶν αἰώνων δημιουργόν, τὸν συναίδιον τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ Θεὸν Λόγον, τῇ τῆς σαρκὸς γενέσει συμπαρομαρτοῦσαν ἔχειν τῆς ὑπάρξεως τὴν ἀρχήν, καὶ ὀψιγενῆ φαντάζεσθαι τὸν ἐπέκεινα παντὸς αἰῶνος καὶ χρόνου, ὡς ἐν ἐσχάτοις καὶ μόλις τοῖς τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως καιροῖς, Πατέρα μὲν γενέσθαι τὸν Θεόν, συνεισβαλεῖν δὲ ὥσπερ εἰς τὸ εἶναί τε καὶ ὑφεστάναι τῷ ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ναῷ τὸν δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα. Ἆρ' οὖν οὐχὶ πρὸς λῆξιν ἤδη τὴν ἀνωτάτω διεληλάκασι τῶν κακῶν, οἱ μῦθον οὕτω τὸν γραώδη καὶ βδελυρὸν προχειρότατα προσηκάμενοι, καὶ τῆς ἀκράτου νωθείας τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀναπλήσαντες νοῦν; Τάφος, ἀληθῶς, ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν, ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν, ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, ὧν τὸ στόμα ἀρᾶς καὶ πικρίας γέμει. {Β} Σύμφημι· καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀτρεκὴς ὁ τοῦ Ψάλλοντος λόγος. {Α} Ἦ γὰρ οὐχὶ τὸν δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ προϋφεστάναι τῶν πάντων ἀνάγκη; {Β} Εὖ λέγεις. {Α} Τί δὲ δὴ καὶ δρῷεν ἄν, Ἰωάννου μὲν γράφοντος· Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, <καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν>. Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὃ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν, περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς. Καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη, καὶ ἑωράκαμεν, καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ ἀπαγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον, ἥτις ἦν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν, αὐτοῦ δὲ Χριστοῦ τῆς ἰδίας ὑπάρξεως τὴν ἄποπτον ἀρχαιότητα τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις κατασημαίνοντος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔφασκον· Πεντήκοντα ἔτη οὔπω ἔχεις, καὶ Ἀβραὰμ ἑώρακας; ἀντήκουον ἐναργῶς· Ἀμήν, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι, ἐγὼ εἰμί. Οὗ δὲ τὸ ἦν ἐστιν, ἐπενηνεγμένου μηδενός, καὶ μὴν καὶ τὸ εἰμί τέτακται σαφῶς, τίνα τῆς γενέσεως κατίδοι τις ἂν τὴν ἀρχήν; Ἢ τίνα δὴ τρόπον ὁ ὢν ἐν ἀρχῇ τῇ παντὸς ἐπέκεινα νοῦ παραδέξαιτο ἂν τὸ ἐν καιρῷ κεκλῆσθαι πρὸς ὕπαρξιν; Εἰ μὲν οὖν τις ἕλοιτο τουτοισὶ σχολαιότερον ἀντιφέρεσθαι, χαλεπὸν οὐδὲν τοὺς τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς παρακομίζοντας λόγους τὰ ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνων ἐμβροντησίας ἀποκρούεσθαι βλάβη. Τά γε μὴν οὕτως ἐναργῆ νοσοῦντα τὸν ἔλεγχον καὶ πολὺ λίαν ἔχοντα τὸ ἀκαλλές, περιττὸν οἶμαί που καὶ φροντίδος ἀξιοῦν. {Β} Εὖ λέγεις. 686 {Α} Οὐκοῦν ἐπ' ἐκεῖνο ἴωμεν ὅπερ ἐστὶ τῷ κατεγνωσμένῳ συγγενές. Παρασημαίνουσι γάρ τινες τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ κάλλος, καθάπερ τι νόμισμα κιβδηλεύοντες, ἐπαίροντές τε εἰς ὕψος τὸ κέρας, καὶ ἀδικίαν λαλοῦντες κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Ἀνύπαρκτόν τε καὶ ἰδικῶς οὐχ ὑφεστηκότα φαντάζονται τὸν Μονογενῆ, καὶ οὐκ εἶναι μὲν ἐν ὑποστάσει τῇ καθ' ἑαυτόν, ῥῆμα δὲ ἁπλῶς καὶ λόγον τὸν κατὰ μόνην τὴν προφορὰν γενέσθαι παρὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ κατοικῆσαί φασιν οἱ τάλανες, συνθέντες δὲ οὕτω τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἁγίων μὲν εἶναί φασιν ἁγιώτερον, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ Θεόν. Οὐκοῦν, καθὰ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπέστειλε μαθητής· Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός; Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος